A library in Thar

HYDERABAD: I recently visited Benazir Bhutto Library in Mithi, Tharparkar. When I entered the library, there was no one to attend to me. After 30 minutes, two people entered with a newspaper in their hands. They seemed to be staff members so I moved towards them and asked for an English newspaper. They did not have any. Alternatively, I requested a Sindhi newspaper. They looked at me with anger and exclaimed, “Do you not see that we are reading the newspaper already?” Then, I thought about exploring the rest of the library, but realised that it was limited to the single hall where I was present. The hall had only 20 poorly designed chairs and the library only contained about a thousand books locked in a wooden shelf along the walls. I did not bother to ask the staff whether I was allowed to read the books or not because I felt too intimidated after their rude behaviour towards me earlier. In any case, the staff were too busy gossiping amongst themselves. Their disruptive chatter prevented one from concentrating. To make matters worse, the staff members were also smoking inside the hall, despite a sign on the front door that prohibited smoking. The library certainly did not provide an environment conducive to study.

Someone has rightly said that if you want to destroy a nation, destroy its education. The education sector in Thar presents a sorry state of affairs and every Pakistani is well aware of the health condition of the Thari people and about their children dying from malnutrition. Many such ills may not even be there if the education sector in the area was in a healthy state. The neglect facing the library shows the apathy of the authorities towards education. The Sindh government must be held responsible for this.

Bhagwan Das Sootahar

Published in The Express Tribune, July 18^th, 2015.

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